Aston Villa have been rather active in the transfer market over recent years in terms of bringing new players to Villa Park.
This summer’s transfer window saw the Midlands club splash the cash on the likes of Leander Dendoncker, Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho, along with signing Boubacar Kamara on a free transfer.
However, one player who was mentioned with a move to Villa but we feel the club and Johan Lange were better off avoiding is Tanguy Ndombele.
After completing a loan spell with Lyon during the second half of last season, the Tottenham midfielder joined Napoli on a season-long loan deal in August.
With five Serie A appearances to his name, the Frenchman – who is picking up a wage of £61k-per-week – has yet to score a goal or provide an assist for his current side. In fact, his overall performances have earned him a rather underwhelming early season rating of 6.12/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated player at Napoli.
It’s not just his poor performances on the pitch this season which would have made him a questionable signing for Steven Gerrard’s side. We feel that the midfielder’s attitude and previous misgivings during his time with Tottenham would have made him a foolish transfer by Villa.
For example, in addition to being called “disgraceful” by Jamie Carragher for his lack of effort on the ball when playing for the north London club, Ndombele was booed off and eventually walked straight down the tunnel after he was substituted in an FA Cup match in January 2022.
Taking all this into account, it would have been difficult to see the Spurs outcast being a useful addition to Gerrard’s squad, given how he hasn’t shown in recent times that he’d have what it takes to be an important player for the Villa boss, who has spoken about the importance of on-field commitment during his reign in the Midlands.
